As we are approaching the holidays we like to spend time with our children, play games and share delicious meals. Part of our traditions, in my home, is that my children get together in December to decorate the tree. We buy a real one every year and it smells so good in the house. They put the music on and they have a good time.

For some of you, it's another story. You have family living or working in a foreign country. You might have loved ones in the Philippines, Italy, India, Slovakia or other countries. If you are like me your holiday shopping is not finished yet. I will never see the end of my gift list. This year I don't have to ship anything to anyone, which saves me a lot of money. Every penny counts.

Another way of saving money is that instead of shipping gifts or sending money by mail to your family members or friends living abroad, you can do a Global Money Transfer. Where I live my neighbours are from different countries around the world. During the year they send money, for various reasons, to either help support their family, for graduations, holidays, birthdays, to fund a retirement account or unexpected expenses.

One of the advantages of using CIBC Global Money Transfer is that it's FREE OF FEES - only foreign exchange conversion applies. You might think that it's too good to be true. When using a competitive private service you might end up paying a lot in fees to send money to another country. That's why it's important to choose a reliable institution like CIBC that has an impeccable reputation and is a well-respected bank. You do not want to end up paying hidden fees. When searching for a money transfer company, it's always a good idea to check with the Canadian Council of Better Business Bureaus or rely on friends and relatives. Make sure that before sending money you know if they will charge a percentage of the remittance or a set fee.

Other things to consider before sending money:

-Will the recipient have to pay fees when receiving the money?

-How long will it take?

-Can I send the money via email, online, phone, bank-to-bank?

I know for sure that I like to use a bank because I feel more secure about it. As I said in this post, when my son was in Hong Kong I wanted to make sure that if he needed money, I could send it to him quickly.

What I like about using the CIBC Global Money Transfer service is that I can send money from any of my accounts, even my US account or from my personal line of credit account. That's so convenient! All I need is to make sure I have the recipient's bank name and account number correct and I can do the transaction either online or by visiting a CIBC branch. It's that simple! I have piece of mind because I know that the funds will be deposited directly into the account, usually within 3 business days. It is a very safe way to transfer money and the recipient will not have to pay fees.

To learn more about the CIBC Global Money Transfer or to make a transfer please visit CIBC.